This invention relates generally to molds, and more particularly, to molds capable of forming a multi-component product.
Multi-component molded products have become very popular. In a typical multi-component molded product, a first component is molded in a first stage. Thereafter, a second component is molded onto the first component in a second stage. Additional components can be added in similar additional stages.
A typical multi-component mold system of the prior art is illustrated in FIGS. 3-8 of the application. Such prior art system has a turret with multiple pairs of product connection units disposed on opposite sides of the turret. The turret is rotatable about its central transverse axis. First components of a product are molded in a first set of mold cavities located proximate to one side of the turret. After the first components are thus molded, the turret is rotated 180xc2x0 and a second component is molded onto each of the first component using a second set of mold cavities disposed on the opposite side of the turret.
The problem with such prior art multi-component mold systems is that the turret is difficult to rotate quickly. This is especially true as the number of product connection pairs attached to the turret increases. Once the length of the turret gets beyond about 3 feet, rotating the turret within the tight time constraints of high speed modern mold systems, requires excessively large rotating equipment and consumes excessive amounts of power.
Accordingly, there is a need for a multi-component mold system which avoids these problems with the prior artxe2x80x94in an efficient and relatively inexpensive manner.
The invention satisfies this need. The invention is an apparatus for making multi-component products. The apparatus comprises (a) an elongate turret having a front side, an opposed rear side and a longitudinal axis, (b) a plurality of product connector pairs, each product connector pair comprising a forward product connector on the front side of the turret and a rearward product connector on the rear side of the turret, the forward product connector and the rearward product connector being disposed in a plane substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the turret, (c) at least one bearing for permitting the rotation of the turret about its longitudinal axis, (d) a first mold disposed proximate to the turret, the first mold defining a plurality of first mold cavities, each first mold cavity being aligned with a product connector on the turret and each first mold cavity being sized and dimensioned to shape the exterior surface of the first molded layer of the product, the first mold being separable along a first mold separation plane which bisects each of the first mold cavities within the first mold, and (e) a second mold disposed proximate to the turret and opposite the turret from the first mold, the second mold defining a plurality of second mold cavities, each second mold cavity being aligned with a product connector on the turret and each second mold cavity being sized and dimensioned to shape the exterior surface of the second molded layer of the product, the second mold being separable along a second mold separation plane which bisects each of the second mold cavities within the second mold.